Well water in Manatee County, Florida
In Manatee County, <1% of 1,443 tested well samples exceeded the EPA limit for fluoride (4 mg/L), based on public data from USGS Water Quality Portal.
The strongest signal is radium (226 + 228): 15% of 13 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
6,013 test results across 10 contaminants from at least 192 wells, 1923 to 2025; sodium has the most at 1,580. Data refreshed September 15, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
An estimated 23,676 people in Manatee County get their drinking water from a private well, per USGS 2015 county water use. That is about 7% of residents.
Separately, the USGS national arsenic model estimates that <1% of the 23,676 people on private wells in Manatee County draw water above 10 ug/L, from geology and well depth rather than local tests.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Manatee County. Above limit means above the EPA maximum contaminant level; where EPA has no enforceable limit, the row shows a health guideline or nuisance level instead.
| Contaminant | Above limit | Samples | Detected | Median | Highest | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radium (226 + 228) 1975 to 1977 | 13 | 92% | 2.5 | 7.4 | 5 pCi/L EPA limit | |
| Fluoride 1953 to 2025 | 1,443 | 99% | 1.12 | 4,600 | 4 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrate 1932 to 1997 | 116 | 95% | 0.023 | 10 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Lead 1976 to 2024 | 87 | 94% | 0.2 | 4.74 | 15 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Arsenic 1976 to 2024 | 85 | 93% | 0.18 | 2.49 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| Copper 1984 to 2024 | 84 | 98% | 0 | 0.03 | 1.3 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Sodium 1953 to 2025 | no limit | 1,580 | 100% | 20.3 | 10,000 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Iron 1923 to 2025 | no limit | 1,334 | 100% | 8.5 | 14,500 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1963 to 2025 | no limit | 1,247 | 99% | 0.53 | 117 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
| Chloride 1981 to 1989 | no limit | 24 | 100% | 42.5 | 660 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
Over time
Share of samples above the limit by period. A cell needs ten samples to show; a comparison needs twenty in each period. Later periods sample fewer wells, and often the ones already known to have a problem.
| Contaminant | before 2000 | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fluoride | <1%217 samples | n/a | 0%552 samples | 0%674 samples |
| Lead | n/a | n/a | 0%43 samples | 0%36 samples |
| Arsenic | n/a | n/a | 0%43 samples | 0%36 samples |
| Copper | n/a | n/a | 0%43 samples | 0%36 samples |
Fluoride, lead, arsenic, copper have held within a few points between the two most recent periods with enough samples.
Closer than the county
See the sampled wells near your address
The same records, drawn around one point: which wells within a few miles were sampled and what they found, how deep the wells next to you were drilled, and any leaking tank or cleanup site within a mile.
Check my addressWhat this means
The contaminants most often above their limit here are radium (226 + 228) (15% of 13 samples) and fluoride (<1% of 1,443 samples). A well next door can differ sharply from yours because bedrock fractures, well depth and plumbing all matter, so these rates describe the area, not your tap.
Iron, Manganese, and Chloride are widespread in local groundwater. They are mainly a staining and taste problem, but high manganese also carries a health advisory for infants.
What to test for in Manatee County
- 1Radium (226 + 228)15% of 13 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Fluoride<1% of 1,443 local samples were above the limit.
- 3Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 4NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 5ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 6IronDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 7ManganeseDetected in 99% of local samples.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)596 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
Test your Manatee County well for radium (226 + 228), fluoride and coliform bacteria
Certified lab analysis of your own tap water, bottles and prepaid return shipping included. The Essential well panel covers arsenic, uranium, nitrate, lead, copper, manganese, iron, sodium and bacteria; radon and PFAS are add-ons.
Order the Tap Score well water test kit, from $209Already tested? Upload the report
Just want bacteria checked first? Tap Score coliform and E. coli test, $99. Coliform and E. coli are the tests every well needs every year.
Want a quick look before paying for a lab? Home well water test strips on Amazon check hardness, iron, pH and nitrate in minutes. They are a screen, not a result: arsenic, bacteria, uranium and PFAS need a certified lab.
Affiliate links: the merchant pays us a commission and the price is the same for you. It does not change what the data above says. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Where to get a well tested in Florida: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Manatee County numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
The rock under Manatee County
Surficial aquifer system
Unconsolidated sand and gravel. Wells in sand and gravel are usually shallow and productive, and they recharge quickly from the surface. That makes them the most exposed to nitrate, bacteria and anything spilled nearby, and the least likely to carry arsenic or radon from the rock.
Classification from the USGS Principal Aquifers of the United States (national map, 2003 edition, GIS release 2015), read at the county centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.
Official help in Florida
Two places to start that are not selling anything: the state program that answers private well questions, and its list of labs certified to run drinking water tests. A certified lab is the difference between a result you can act on and a number.
- Private Well Water Testing, Florida Department of Health
- NELAP Certified Laboratory Search, Florida DEP
Contamination sources on record in Manatee County
FDEP records 596 leaking underground storage tank sites in Manatee County, among 762 regulated sites in total. Groundwater does not follow property lines, so a well within a few hundred feet of one of these is worth testing for what that site could release.
- 596
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 166
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
Radium (226 + 228)
Water softener (cation exchange); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
Fluoride
Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Activated alumina; Distillation
Systems we would look at first
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.
For radium (226 + 228)
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For fluoride
Aquasana SmartFlow reverse osmosis
under-sink or countertop, about $225
Certified to NSF/ANSI 58 and 53 to reduce arsenic (96%, pentavalent), fluoride (90%), lead (99%), nitrate, nitrite and PFOA/PFOS at the kitchen tap, with a remineralizer.
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Manatee County
No water treatment company serves Manatee County through Well Water Nerd yet. We are signing licensed companies on county by county: they test at your tap for free, walk you through the numbers, and quote treatment only if something needs fixing. Leave your details and you are first in line. Nothing is shared until a company joins for Manatee County, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
Is there arsenic in well water in Manatee County?
Arsenic was detected in 93% of 85 public well samples in Manatee County, and 0% were above the EPA limit of 10 ug/L. Arsenic has no taste or smell; a lab test is the only way to know your level.
How often should I test a private well in Manatee County?
Test for bacteria and nitrate every year. Test once for arsenic, uranium, radon, fluoride, manganese and PFAS, then again every three to five years or after any change in taste, color, or plumbing.
Counties near Manatee County
Closest first. Groundwater does not stop at a line on a map, so the next county over is a fair second opinion.
Want the numbers themselves? Download the Florida dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 6,013 samples in Manatee County. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- USGS national arsenic model (Ayotte 2017): estimated share of 23,676 people on private wells in Manatee County above 10 ug/L of arsenic, from geology, well depth and land use. County estimates of domestic well users with arsenic above 10 ug/L from the USGS national logistic regression model (Ayotte, Medalie and Qi, 2017), with private well population from the USGS 2015 county water-use compilation (Dieter and others, 2018). Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- FDEP regulated sites: 762 regulated sites located in Manatee County. Petroleum contamination discharges and cleanup sites from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
Non-detects count as samples and are treated as zero when computing medians. Exactly at the limit counts as not above it. A sample belongs to the town containing the well's reported coordinates.